49ers free agency: Grading 2021 additions and losses

Grading 49ers bringing back Kyle Juszczyk on 5-year deal

Being critical of the 49ers’ record-setting contract for Kyle Juszczyk might seem a little harsh, but let’s take a look at a few things here.

Juszczyk, who’ll turn 30 years old before the start of training camp, is a five-time Pro Bowler and a key part of Kyle Shanahan’s offense. As a lead blocker and a mismatch receiving weapon, there are few players who offer up what Juszczyk can do.

Plus, just by looking at Over the Cap’s contract breakdown for Juszczyk, it’s essentially a three-year deal with 2024 and 2025 having zero in guaranteed money when the fullback’s total cap hit reaches nearly $7.6 million.

Simply put, the Niners can move out from under the deal not too far into it with reasonable dead-money hits on his five-year, $27 million contract. In that light, the contract isn’t quite as lucrative as it would otherwise seem.

Instead, the criticism stems from not just the outlier for players at his position, which is a shaky argument anyway, and rather towards his field-use time. Juszczyk appeared on just 43 percent of the team’s offensive snaps in 2020 and just 37 percent the year before last, making him a notably expensive commodity for a player who’s on the field less than half the time.

If there’s anything bumping down this contract into the C-range, it’s that.